Romanians kicked off Imperial War Museum grounds back sleeping rough at Marble Arch

Homeless east European migrants were today back in the West End - despite a government drive to offer rough-sleepers free coach tickets back to their home countries.

The campers slept overnight in and around Marble Arch and Park Lane amid reports of increased begging along Oxford Street and Edgware Road.

The return of the rough-sleepers came after up to ten homeless east Europeans were moved on from the grounds of the Imperial War Museum.

The campers are believed to be part of a larger group of migrants who have been sleeping rough in Park Lane, Marble Arch and Bryanston Square throughout the summer.

Shopkeeper Imad Habib said the “problem” had gone away briefly after the Home Office bought them coach tickets home – at taxpayers’ expense.

But, bound by the European Union’s laws on freedom of movement, the Government cannot stop them coming back, which he said they did en masse after about three weeks.

Sleeping rough: A group of homeless east Europeans Picture: Nigel Howard
Mr Habib, manager of Park Lane News, added: “They went away for their Government-funded holiday but now they are back.

“With Christmas coming and all the tourists arriving here from the Middle East for shopping, it will just get worse. Some of them do really well, particularly through artificial disability. Why wouldn’t they come back?”

Hakan Altay, who has run the nearby Hakan Altay Hair and Beauty Salon for 36 years, added: “The police should act more strongly. The council try – they clean up, but we need a more permanent solution.”

Moved on: A group were cleared from the grounds of the Imperial War Museum Picture: Nigel Howard
Met Police sergeant Simon Reason, who is based in the area, acknowledged the continuing problem but insisted new approaches were being considered to tackle it.

He said: “We can now call upon patrol officers and tasking teams to assist in checking the status and welfare of the Roma. This assists in their return home or movement off the streets where they are more vulnerable.”

Romanian Boz Lacramioara Mihela, 23, who has two children aged six and nine back home, said she had been sleeping rough and begging in the area for about a month.

She told the Standard: “We are sleeping here because we have nowhere else to go. We are trying to earn money for food but we can’t get jobs. I’d like to work as a cleaner.”

Fellow Romanian Roman Suraj, 23, who is in London with his pregnant wife, said sleeping out in the open was better than going home because of the “economic crisis” there.

Return: The Government cannot stop them coming back due to freedom of movement laws Picture: Jeremy Selwyn
Councillor Jack Hopkins, cabinet member for safer and stronger neighbourhoods at Lambeth Council, said around 10 rough sleepers were “cleared” from the Waterloo area yesterday morning as part of a drive to get the “legitimately” homeless into housing programmes.

“No-one needs to beg or sleep rough in Lambeth,” he added.

Councillor Nickie Aiken, Westminster City Council’s community protection, said: “The tidal movement of East European rough sleepers in central London is something we have seen for months now. I can totally understand the frustration of residents and businesses that no sooner do we clear an illegal camp at Park Lane or elsewhere than a fresh batch of rough sleepers arrive.”

“As a council we will keep doing what we can, but the longer term solution to this problem lies in stopping career beggars at the UK border. The right to free movement for EU citizens doesn’t translate into a right to behave anti socially in the European capital of your choice”